fine motor skills

Pencil paper tasks and Visual Motor Integration:

1. Consider use of fat (primary) pencils or fat crayons
2. Use a pencil grip
3. Check finger placement; how student holds the pencil
4. Make sure student can touch both feet flat against the ground when at the desk writing
5. Check posture
6. Check that seat is pushed forward towards desk
7. Perform a handwriting assessment for preschool students to check for dominant hand usage
8. When printing allow for paper with the middle dashed line on it.
9. Encourage use of tradition 3 finger grip.
10. Consider using extra soft pencils
11. Check that pencil grip is not too tight
12. Drawing circles as fast as possible, right on top of each other helps to loosen fingers.
13. Color smaller areas first
14. Keep wrist anchored to the table top and move only the and and fingers.
15. Monitor positioning of paper. Student will struggle when paper is centered
16. Practice "sky writing" of letters before
17. Mazes
18. An Occupational Therapist is a resource for fine motor skills.

Scissor Skills:

1. Young children may do better with short bladed scissors with small openings in the handles.
2. Make sure blades have cutting ability. Plastic will not work.
3. Have student hold small sponge with the 4th and 5th fingers while handling scissors
4. Practice cutting thin strips
5. Use tape to make handle openings smaller
6. Small snips for smaller shapes
7. Scissors should be held "thumb up"

Supplemental Activities for Visual Motor Integration

1. Finger Plays (Itsy Bitsy Spider)
2. Finger Flexing
3. Finger Tapping
4. Snapping
5. Use of eye droppers
6. Clipping Clothes pins
7. Etch a sketch
8. Pick up sticks
9. Using tweezers
10. Lacing cards
11. Bead designs
12. Clay
13. Tracing worksheets
14. Nuts and bolts
15. Lincoln Logs
16. Light Brights